Widows Surviving on Illegal Sand Mining in Kolahun Call on National Government for Empowerment Support…

By: J. Mason Kollie| Correspondent

Lofa County, Voinjama City- February 07, 2025-Several widows in Kolahun, Kolba City are currently struggling to make ends meet with their children who are living with them.

According to some of them, their husbands are dead while others said their children’s fathers left them without financial support to the family. Currently, women and children are at the river site in Kolahun City mining sand illegally to support their children.

“We are here digging sand to sell and support our children to school,” Madam Kemah a mother of two children said in an interview on Thursday, February 6, 2025.

Another lady at the illegal mining site  in Kolahun Old Town said “I don’t have support for my children, that’s the reason I’m here to dig out sand , and sell it for my children to go to School”  she told RRNN reporter J. Mason Kollie in an interview.

During our tour at the illegal sand mining site in Kolahun, we found out that there were more than fifty (50) widows in the area along the Kahai River, Old Town community.

The women are calling on the Government of Liberia and nongovernment humanitarian organizations to come to their aid especially in the agriculture as well as income generation projects.

Pressed as regards why they were engaged in sand mining, they lamented that things have become very challenging for them and instead of engaging in prostitution and other unwanted activities, they chose ‘Hustle the hard way’ till the government or ngos can step in to help them.

Edited: Jesefu Morris Keita |Editor-In-Chief